Program control apparatus

ABSTRACT

A program control apparatus includes a drum mounted for rotation and a stack of cam rings removably supported upon the drum surface. The cam rings include outwardly projecting partly cut away flanges formed of easily removable material providing cam surfaces for the control of a program operation through a series of cam follower devices. The drum is mounted only at one end by means of a shaft connected to a wall portion of a support, the support also supporting drive means for rotating the drum and the cam follower devices. The arrangement permits rapid and convenient setup and adjustment of programs through cutting away of portions of the cam ring flanges, through exchange of the cam rings, and through exchange of the entire drum assembly.

I Umted States Patent 11113,580,105

[72] Inventor Warr n E- Gils n 1 3,148,518 9/1964 Peel et a1. 66/50(B)X4801 Sheboygan Ave., Madison, Wis. 3,177,310 4/1965 Deeken 74/568X 537053,481,219 12/1969 De Rosa 74/568 [21 1 p 823411 Primary Examiner-Fred C.Mattem, Jr. [22] Filed May 9, 1969 A E F D Sh ak [45] Patented May 25,19,71 sszstant xammer oem er Att0rneyMason, Kolehmamen, Rathburn & Wyss1541 PROGRAMCONI'ROLAPPARAWS Qfifil'fii rfimiffifiifi2iiiiioilliiilllilliiiS532 l1 cmsmwmgm ported upon the drum surface. The cam ringsinclude out- U-S- rojecting cut away flanges fored of 1 Cl F16}! 54/04removable material providing cam surfaces for the control of a 0fprogram peration through a eries of cam follower devices. 568 (1166/56,50(3); 200/38 The drum is mounted only at one end by means ofa shaftconnected to a wall portion of a support, the support also supportingdrive means for rotating the drum and the cam follower [5 6] ReferencesCited devices The arrangement permits rapid and convenient setup UNITEDSTATES PATENTS and adjustment of programs through cutting away ofportions 1,940,598 12/1933 Larkin 74/568X of the cam ring flanges,through exchange of the cam rings, 2,643,533 6/1953 St. Pierre 66/156Xand through exchange of the entire drum assembly.

PROGRAM CONTROL APPARATUS The present invention relates to programcontrol apparatus.

Many types of rotary drum programming devices are known. Typically, suchdevices include a rotating drum having a series of cam surfaces eachdefining projections or recesses engaged by cam followers to control aseries of control devices thereby to carry out a program operation. Thepresent invention relates to improvements in this type of device.

Among the principal objects of this invention are to provide improvedprogram control apparatus; to provide an apparatus which is capable ofeasily being prepared initially to set up a program; to provide a devicein which adjustments of an entire program or portions of the program areeasily carried out; and to provide an apparatus which is reliable,compact, and relatively inexpensive.

In brief, the above and other objects and advantages are realized inaccordance with the present invention through the provision of a programcontrol apparatus including a drum mounted for rotation together with aseries of cam rings removably mounted in stacked relation on the drum.The cam rings each include an outwardly radially extending flange formedof easily cutaway material which is removed in part in accordance withthe program to be carried out. The cam rings include base portions ofgreater axial length to maintain a desired spacing between the flangeswhen the rings are stacked on the 'drum. The rings are easily mountedand removed from the drum surface in order to set up, alter, or changethe program. In addition, the drum is rotatably mounted on a shafthaving only a single end supported on a wall member, the drum beingeasily removable and replaceable in order to change an entire program.The wall member is associated with a suitable support also carrying adrive means for rotating the drum and a series of cam follower operateddevices for carrying out the desired program.

The invention together with its objects and advantages may be bestunderstood from consideration of the following detailed description ofthe illustrative embodiments shown in the drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view of a program control apparatus embodying the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one of the cam rings of the apparatus ofFIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view on a reduced scale illustrating analternative embodiment of the invention.

Having reference now to FIGS. 14 of the drawings, there is illustrated aprogram control apparatus designated as a whole by the reference numeraland constructed in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention. In the main, the apparatus 10 includes a rotatably mountedprogramming drum assembly generally designated as 12 together with adrive system generally designated as 14 for rotating the drum assembly12. A control assembly designated as a whole as 16 is operatedrby thedrum assembly 12 to carry out a program or a selected sequence ofoperations.

An important feature of the present invention resides in theconstruction and arrangement of the drum assembly l2this constructionmaking possible simplified setup of the initial program as well assimplifying changes of part of the program or of the entire program. Thedrum assembly 12 includes a generally cylindrical drum or body 18 (FIG.3) over the surface of which are removably supported a stackedarrangement of individual cam rings each designated by the referencenumeral 20. The cam rings are easily prepared so that they present thedesired arrangement of cam surfaces for the operation of the controlassembly I6. In addition, the cam rings are easily installed, arrangedand replaced on the drum 18.

Having reference to FIG. 4, the construction of one of the cam rings 20is illustrated. The ring includes a generally collarlike base portion20A having a substantially uniforminside diameter such that the baseportion 20A may be slidably received on the drum 18. The ring 20 furtherincludes a radially outwardly extending flange or rim 208 formedintegrally with the base 20A. The material of the flange or rim 20B issuch that selected portions of the rim may be removed by a suitablecutting tool or the like to provide recesses of desired extent andlocation, the recesses being designated as 22 in the figures of thedrawing. The ease of preparing the cam rings to set up a desired programis enhanced by the provision of suitable regularly spaced indiciaarranged about the periphery of the base portion 20A of the cam ring. Inorder to relate the regularly spaced indicia to a parameter of theprogram to be set up, such as time, the flange or rim 20B is alsoprovided with indicia, as appears in FIG. 4.

The cam rings 20 may be supported on the cylindrical surface of the drum18 in any suitable manner, as by a friction fit or by clamping or thelike. In order to prevent rotation of the cam rings relative to thesurface of the drum body, a suitable interlocking arrangementis'provided. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention in FIGS.1-4, this interlocking arrangement takes the form of a radially inwardlyextending projection 20C on each cam ring 20 extending into an axiallyextending groove 24 (FIG. 3) in the surface of the drum 18. As appearsbest in FIGS. 1 and 3, when the cam rings20 are mounted in stackedrelationship on the surface of the drum 18, the base portions 20A of therings maintain a desirable uniform spacing between the cam surfacedefining flanges or rims 20B.

In order to set up a desired program with the drum assembly 12, theindividual cam rings 20 are prepared by cutting away or removingselected portions of the rims 20B in accordance with the desiredsequence of controlled events to take place. This process if facilitatedby the provision of indicia on both the base and flange portions of thecam ring. This cutting away process by which material is removed fromthe flanges 20B is easily carried out since the cam rings 20 are formedof a material such as plastic or the like which can readily be removedwith a suitable tool. The prepared cam rings are then mounted on thedrum 18 in the desired sequence to produce the selected program. In theevent it is desired to alter any portion or portions of the completedprogram, the change is readily accomplished merely by replacing theparticular cam ring or rings 20 corresponding to the changes to be made.It is not necessary to change the entire program merely to alter oneportion.

An important advantage of the present invention is that the variouscomponents of the apparatus 10 are compactly mounted in a convenient andsimple arrangement wherein any of the components including the entiredrum assembly 12 can easily be removed and replaced. The apparatus isprovided with a supporting frame which, in the illustrated arrangement,includes a base 26, a wall 28, and a leg 30, although other arrangementscould be used. Conveniently, the drum assembly 12 is rotatably mountedon a shaft 32, the shaft being supported only at one end on the wall 28.The opposite end of the shaft is unsupported and therefore easilyaccessible.

More specifically, the drum or body 18 includes a pair of end walls 18A(FIG. 3) defining openings 34 receiving the shaft 32 loosely enough sothat the drum 18 is free to rotate about the shaft 32. The shaftprojects through the openings 34 and is releasably attached to anopening 36 in the wall 28. Thus, when it is desired to change an entireprogram, this can rapidly and conveniently be accomplished merely bereleasing the shaft 32 and replacing the entire drum assembly 12 with adifferent drum assembly carrying the desired program.

Rotation is imparted to the drum assembly 12 by means of the drivesystem 14 including a motor 38 supported by the base 26. The motorincludes a rotatable drive shaft 40 carrying a drive pinion 42. An idler44 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 46 supported by the wall 28 andserves to transmit rotary motion between the pinion 42 and a driven gear48 mounted at one end of the drum 18. The driven gear 48 is receivedover a hub portion 188 of the drum l8 and is fixed to the drum in anysuitable manner, as with fasteners 50.

In the arrangement of FIGS. l4, the cam rings 20 are clamped in positionalong the drum surface, although if desired a friction fit mounting orother arrangement could be used. In order to clamp the rings inposition, a first clamping plate 52 is sandwiched between the drivengear 48 and the end wall 18A 'of the drum 18. If desired, the plate 52could obviously be formed integrally with the drum or with the gear. Atthe opposite end of the drum 18, an additional clamping plate 54 is heldagainst the opposite wall 18 by an enlarged portion 32A of the shaft 32.

ln order to facilitate mounting and removal of the drum assembly 12, theshaft 32 is provided with a handle 56 at its free outermost end. Theinnermost end of the shaft 32 is provided with a threaded reduced endportion 32B extending through sembly 12 is permitted freely to rotate onthe shaft when driven by the motor 40 and gears 42, 44, and 48. The useof the gear drive arrangement makes it possible easily to remove themotor 40 from the apparatus for replacement or the like.

Referring now more specifically to the construction of the controlassembly 16, there are provided a plurality of cam followers comprisingpivotally mounted levers 62 having rollers 64 riding upon the camsurfaces defined by the flanges 208. The cam followers operate suitablecontrol devices which in the illustrated arrangements take the form ofminiature push button switches 66. The switches are mounted on a pair ofsupport bars 68 extending between the wall 28 and the leg 30 of theframe. These switches are adapted to be interconnected in known mannerwith electrically operated equipment to be controlled in a programmedsequence.

Having reference now to FIG. there is illustrated an alternativeembodiment of the invention which may be preferred when cam rings oflarger diameter are desired to provide cam surfaces of greater length.The construction of the arrangement of HO. 5 may for the most part besimilar to the apparatus shown in FIGS. l-4 and thus has not beencompletely illustrated.

When rings of large diameter such as about 6 inches or larger are used,it is difficult to maintain the shape and size of the rings uniform.Thus it may be difficult to mount the rings on a drum having an outsidediameter approximately equal to the inside diameter of the rings.Furthermore the accuracy of the program may be impaired since the camsurfaces of different rings may differ somewhat in length.

Such problems are overcome in accordance with the present invention bythe provision of a drum 118 the outer circumference of which is providedwith regularly spaced elongated gear teeth 119 extending in an axialdirection throughout some of all of the length of the drum. Cam rings120 having inside diameters larger than the drum diameter are removablysupported in stacked relation on the drum, and each includes inner gearteeth 120C engageable with the teeth 119. The rings 120 are somewhatloosely supported on the drum 118 so that they hang freely from thedrum.

When the drum 118 is rotated, a planetary gear action takes place tocause the rings 120 to rotate about their axes. Cam follower devicesincluding levers 162 for controlling pushbutton'switches or the like maybe arranged to engage the uppermost portions of the rings 120 to aid inholding the rings 120 on the drum "8. The rings include base portions120A and flanges 1208 which may be identical to the portions A and 20Bof the cam rings 20. Since each ring has an equal number of inner gearteeth, and since the cam surface at the outside of each ring 120 isaligned rotationally with the inner teeth, the program is accurateregardless of slight variations in the size or shape of the rings.

lclaim:

l. A program control apparatus comprising a generally cylindrical drummounted for rotation about a central longitudinal axis, means defining aplurality of cam surfaces extending in generally circular paths aroundthe circumference of the drum, and a plurality of cam follower meansengageable with the cam surfaces for carrying out a program inaccordance with the configuration of said cam surfaces, said cam surfacedefining means including a plurality of individual ring members slidablyand removably supported on the surface of the drum, each of said ringmembers including a radially outwardly projecting flange of initiallyuniform and initially continuous cross section formed of a materialbeing selectively removable at any desired region to form a recess ofany desired length in the flange.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, each said ring member including a basehaving a smaller outside diameter and a larger axial length than saidflange portion, the bases of adjacent ring members abutting one anotherto provide uniform spacing between the cam surfaces when the ringmembers are stacked.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, said base and said flange of each ringmember being made of plastic material.

4. A program control apparatus comprising a generally cylindrical drummounted for rotation about a central longitudinal axis, means defining aplurality of cam surfaces extending in generally circular paths aroundthe circumference of the drum, and a plurality of cam follower meansengageable with the cam surfaces for carrying out a program inaccordance with the configuration of said cam surfaces, said cam surfacedefining means including a plurality of individual ring members slidablyand removably supported on the surface of the drum, each of said ringmembers including a radially outwardly projecting flange of initiallyuniform and continuous cross section formed of a material beingselectively removable to form a recess in the flange, each said ringmember including a base having a smaller outside diameter and a largeraxial length than said flange portion, the bases of said ring membersproviding uniform spacing between the cam surfaces when the ring membersare stacked and indicia on the peripheral surface of each said baseadjacent said flange to serve as a guide in the removal of the flangematerial.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, having further indicia on said flangerelated to said first-mentioned indicia.

6. The apparatus of claim 3, a radially inwardly directed projection oneach said ring member, and a groove in the surface of said drumreceiving said projections for holding said cam rings against rotation.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, said ring members having an inside diameterslightly greater than the drum diameter and being slidably receivedthereon.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, said drum having spaced elongated axiallyextending gear teeth defined on its surface, and said ring membershaving inside diameters substantially larger than the diameter of thedrum, and each ring member having spaced inwardly directed gear teethengageable with said drum gear teeth.

9. A program control apparatus comprising a support having a wallportion, an opening in said wall portion, a rotatable programming drumhaving axial opening means defined therethrough and having cam meanssupported on its surface, a support shaft adapted to extend through saidaxial opening means rotatably to support said drum, said-shaft having anend portion engageable with said opening to provide a single pointsupport for said shaft for mounting said drum in a location projectingfrom said wall portion, drive means mounted on said support for rotatingsaid drum, and control means mounted on said support and engageable withsaid cam means for carrying out a program operation, said drive meanscomprising a driven gear attached to one end of said drum between saiddrum and said wall portion, a motor mounted on said support means, adrive pinion rotated by said motor, and an idler coupled between saiddrive pinion and driven gear, said idler being supported on said wallportion.

10. A cam ring adapted to be mounted in stacked relation with similarcam rings on a rotatable cylindrical surface to perform a programmingfunction, said cam ring comprising: a unitary generally annular bodyincluding a base and a flange,

the base having an axial length in excess of its radial thickness so asto have a collarlike shape, and said flange having an axial lengthsmaller than the axial length of the base and extending radiallyoutwardly of the base conveniently to be cutaway in part to form aperipheral cam surface, said flange initially being continuous andhaving a uniform cross section readily cut away at any region and forany desired length.

11. A cam ring adapted to be mounted in stacked relation with similarcam rings on a rotatable cylindrical surface to perform a programmingfunction, said cam ring comprising: a

unitary generally annular body including a base and a flange, the basehaving an axial length in excess of its radial thickness so as to have acollarlike shape, and said flange having an axial length smaller thanthe axial length of the base and extending radially outwardly of thebase conveniently to be cut away in part to form a peripheral camsurface, and regularly spaced indicia arranged along said flange andalong the periphery of said base to facilitate preparation of saidperipheral cam surface.

1. A program control apparatus comprising a generally cylindrical drummounted for rotation about a central longitudinal axis, means defining aplurality of cam surfaces extending in generally circular paths aroundthe circumference of the drum, and a plurality of cam follower meansengageable with the cam surfaces for carrying out a program inaccordance with the configuration of said cam surfaces, said cam surfacedefining means including a plurality of individual ring members slidablyand removably supported on the surface of the drum, each of said ringmembers including a radially outwardly projecting flange of initiallyuniform and initially continuous cross section formed of a materialbeing selectively removable at any desired region to form a recess ofany desired length in the flange.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, each saidring member including a base having a smaller outside diameter and alarger axial length than said flange portion, the bases of adjacent ringmembers abutting one another to provide uniform spacing between the camsurfaces when the ring members are stacked.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2,said base and said flange of each ring member being made of plasticmaterial.
 4. A program control apparatus comprising a generallycylindrical drum mounted for rotation about a central longitudinal axis,means defining a plurality of cam surfaces extending in generallycircular paths around the circumference of the drum, and a plurality ofcam follower means engageable with the cam surfaces for carrying out aprogram in accordance with the configuration of said cam surfaces, saidcam surface defining means including a plurality of individual ringmembers slidably and removably supported on the surface of the drum,each of said ring members including a radially outwardly projectingflange of initially uniform and continuous cross section formed of amaterial being selectively removable to form a recess in the flange,each said ring member including a base having a smaller outside diameterand a larger axial length than said flange portion, the bases of saidring members providing uniform spacing between the cam surfaces when thering members are stacked and indicia on the peripheral surface of eachsaid base adjacent said flange to serve as a guide in the removal of theflange material.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4, having further indicia onsaid flange related to said first-mentioned indicia.
 6. The apparatus ofclaim 3, a radially inwardly directed projection on each said ringmember, and a groove in the surface of said drum receiving saidprojections for holding said cam rings against rotation.
 7. Theapparatus of claim 1, said ring members having an inside diameterslightly greater than the drum diameter and being slidably receivedthereon.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, said drum having spaced elongatedaxially extending gear teeth defined on its surface, and said ringmembers having inside diameters substantially larger than the diameterof the drum, and each ring member having spaced inwardly directed gearteeth engageable with said drum gear teeth.
 9. A program controlapparatus comprising a support having a wall portion, an opening in saidwall portion, a rotatable programming drum having axial opening meansdefined therethrough and having cam means supported on its surface, asupport shaft adapted to extend through said axial opening meansrotatably to support said drum, said shaft having an end portionengageable with said opening to provide a single point support for saidshaft for mounting said drum in a location projecting from said wallportion, drive means mounted on said support for rotating said drum, andcontrol means mounted on said support and engageable with said cam meansfor carrying out a program operation, said drive means comprising adriven gear attached to one end of said drum between said drum and saidwall portion, a motor mounted on said support means, a drive pinionrotated by said motor, and an idler coupled between said drive pinionand driven gear, said idler being supported on said wall portion.
 10. Acam ring adapted to be mounted in stacked relation with similar camrings on a rotatable cylindrical surface to perform a programmingfunction, said cam ring comprising: a unitary generally annular bodyincluding a base and a flange, the base having an axial length in excessof its radial thickness so as to have a collarlike shape, and saidflange having an axial length smaller than the axial length of the baseand extending radially outwardly of the base conveniently to be cut awayin part to form a peripheral cam surface, said flange initially beingcontinuous and having a uniform cross section readily cut away at anyregion and for any desired length.
 11. A cam ring adapted to be mountedin stacked relation with similar cam rings on a rotatable cylindricalsurface to perform a programming function, said cam ring comprising: aunitary generally annular body including a base and a flange, the basehaving an axial length in excess of its radial thickness so as to have acollarlike shape, and said flange having an axial length smaller thanthe axial length of the base and extending radially outwardly of thebase conveniently to be cut away in part to form a peripheral camsurface, and regularly spaced indicia arranged along said flange andalong the periphery of said base to facilitate preparation of saidperipheral cam surface.